Okay…now I am getting concerned…really concerned. It is not about a particular political party, it is about us, the public, where we need to have opportunities and vehicles to save money in. Safely. We need our great government and regulatory bodies to keep our savings safe so we can retire in comfort…and have the comfort to know we are taking care of ourselves. We need the government to also encourage us to be responsible and to provide a means to invest in our own future…to watch out money grow and to know our hard-earned cash can and will generate a relative level of security in our own futures. So why don’t the politicians see this? And why don’t, we the public, pay more attention (in general) to what is going down and how that will affect us all in the future.
Sure…by human nature we do not think much about a small amount being chipped away…but when you have chisels attacking every corner of your wallet…you start to get concerned. You should get concerned…it is time for Canadians to wake up and pay attention before the jack-hammer pounds reality into our cortex’s.
Don’t take it personally…it is just your finances and future. And, on the cusp of a Canadian federal election, when better than to inject personal finances into the political landscape? None. None better…just look at how we are encouraged to save…then penalized when we do.
For my two cents (and for all that is worth in the future) as a money lender…I advocate strongly encourage people to be responsible…make it possible…provide direction and provide the vehicles. Ultimately, if we have less poverty, less welfare and people living within their means…then we lower costs. A penny saved, after all, is a penny earned.
Just look at RRIFs… Currently, the utility of Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF) is constrained by minimum withdrawal requirements. Canadians are required to make a minimum withdrawal from their RRIFs starting the year after they established them. But what if they don’t need to? What if they don’t want to? What if the plan was to invest and watch your money grow?
What’s more, these same savings-minded citizens are penalized for making withdrawals — again, from their very own RRIF funds, mind — before age 71 according to a formulaic calculation. Sez who?! The best solution for this bureaucratic soup? Eliminate the RRIF withdrawal requirement altogether. Hey…but who is paying attention?

Retirement security
Listen to parties whose promises touch on subjects vital the country’s aging population, including the restoration of age 65 for old age security and guaranteed income supplement eligibility. Currently, the OAS and GIS eligibility age is set to gradually increase to 67 over a six-year stretch that starts in April 2023. When the dust settles, we’ll all be two years older before being able to collect what’s due to us.

TFSAs: New meaning “To Forget Saving Afterall”
There’s reason to believe that the Tax Free Savings Account contribution limit could be in peril — and that would be a travesty to its usefulness as a savings vehicle for Canadians. Both Trudeau and Mulcair have suggested that, if elected, they would claw back the annual TFSA contribution limit to just $5,500 a year. Better still would be for a clever politico to play on the savings vehicle’s value with promises to increase it even more.
It is not the politician that is not helping us save…it is us not speaking up for ourselves to take notice.
My two cents worth.